ABSTRACT
Act 2 . The Powder Room of a posh hotel. Glasgow in the 1950s.
Pearl(late30s) is a widow with a ten-year-old son. She hasa good job as the suit buyer for a department store. But the thought of becoming middle-aged depresses andfrightens her. Althoughshe is haunted by the memory ofherdead husbandand by the powerful loveshe still f eelsfor him she wants to live life lo the full. She dreams not only of finding romance againbut shealso wants herson lo havea father. She hasbeen going out with Callum for some time but she is undecided as lo whether or not she is in love with him. She is preparing for a special night out with him: 'I'm going lo dance. I'm going lo laugh a bit. Maybe I'll have a drink. Maybe I'll smoke a cigarette after the toastto theQueen. I'll eat and I'll talk.' In this scene, which opens thesecond act, Pearlis alone in the powderroom. It is late in the eveningand the dinnerdance has come lo an end. She has washed her hands and is staring at her reflection in the mirror.
